The 25 Best U.S. Cities for Tech Startups

Four of the top 10 metro regions in the U.S. with the most tech startups are in Colorado: Boulder, Fort Collins-Loveland, Denver and Colorado Springs. That’s according to a report released today by technology policy coalition Engine and entrepreneurship research association the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The research focuses on high-tech startups specifically, defining them as new businesses with a concentration of employees in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Here is a rundown of the U.S. metro regions with the highest ratio of tech startups compared to the national average:

Boulder, Colo.

Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass.

Seattle

Denver

San Francisco

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Cheyenne, Wyo.

Salt Lake City

Corvallis, Ore.

Raleigh-Cary, N.C.

Huntsville, Ala.

Provo-Orem, Utah

Bend, Ore.

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

Missoula, Mont.

Grand Junction, Colo.

Sioux Falls, S.D.

Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, Md.

Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.

Wilmington, Del.

Ames, Iowa

As an entrepreneur looking for a startup community to launch your business, knowing where other entrepreneurs have planted their seeds may prove fruitful. And for local leaders, encouraging high-tech startup growth in your community could generate jobs. While high-tech startups have an undeniably high failure rate, those that do succeed take off quickly. On the whole, high-tech startups are good for the local job market, according to the research.

A thriving startup community that's creating jobs typically attracts vitality -- and cash -- to a region. "In the case of Boulder, a startup community whose evolution I've observed and participated in closely over the past many years, the cultural and economic transformation has been extraordinary,” says Brad Feld, co-founder of the Boulder-based Foundry Group and author of numerous books about startup ecosystems, in a statement. “While there isn't one, definitive blueprint to building a technology industry, this research can hopefully inspire communities and policymakers to work together to ensure that the spread of high-tech entrepreneurship isn't just a trend, but a long-term phenomenon.”